Activities of Michèle RIVASI related to 2020/2274(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
The role of development policy in the response to biodiversity loss in developing countries, in the context of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda (debate)
The role of development policy in the response to biodiversity loss in developing countries, in the context of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the role of development policy in the response to biodiversity loss in developing countries, in the context of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda
Amendments (75)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems include i.e. purification of water and air, pest and disease control, crop pollination, soil fertility, genetic diversity, freshwater provisioning, flood protection and carbon sequestration and resilience to climate change;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
A b. whereas biodiversity continues to remain a critical source for medicinal development;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
A c. whereas the most comprehensive global estimate suggests that ecosystem services provide benefits of USD 125-140 trillion (US dollars) per year i.e. more than one and a half times the size of global GDP[1]; Sources: Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action. Executive Summary and Synthesis, OECD 2019 (p. 7).
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
A d. whereas biodiversity is both affected by climate change and an important contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation, through the ecosystems services it support;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)
Recital A e (new)
A e. whereas biodiversity and ecosystem services are projected to decline over coming decades, while the supply and demand material of natural resources with current market value (food, feed, timber and bioenergy) are projected to increase;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)
Recital A f (new)
A f. whereas key pressures on terrestrial, marine and other aquatic biodiversity include habitat loss and fragmentation (particularly from agricultural expansion and intensification), over-exploitation of natural resources (e.g. fish), pollution, invasive alien species and climate change;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2020 identified environmental risks as the greatest systemic risks to our global economy;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the OECD estimates at USD 500 billion per year the financial flows potentially harmful to biodiversity (based on fossil-fuel and agricultural subsidies), an order of magnitude ten times higher than global finance flows for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use; and whereas the costs of inaction on biodiversity loss are high and are anticipated to increase[1]; Sources: Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action. Executive Summary and Synthesis, OECD 2019.
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas recent studies show that between 1.65 and 1.87 billion Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro- descendants live in the world’s important biodiversity conservation areas; whereas another finding shows that 56 percent of the people living in important biodiversity conservation areas are in low- and middle-income countries; whereas only 9 percent live in high-income countries. This underscores the disproportionate impact of conservation on the Global South (RRI);
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas traditional indigenous territories encompass around 22 per cent of the world ’s land surface and they coincide with areas that hold 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas indigenous people remain amongst the poorest of the poor; and whereas one of the major difficulty that indigenous peoples face globally is to gain legal recognition of collective ownership over their ancestral lands, especially when these were declared protected territories;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas it is estimated that 50 per cent of protected areas worldwide has been established on lands traditionally occupied and used by indigenous peoples and that this proportion is highest in the Americas, where it may exceed 90 per cent in Central America;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas the lack of recognition of indigenous people’s and communities’ customary land rights generates risks of landgrabbing, thereby jeopardising their livelihoods and their ability to respond to climate change or biodiversity loss;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
E d. whereas the UN Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples has identified the extractive industries as a main source of conflict and violence on indigenous peoples’ territories;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E e (new)
Recital E e (new)
E e. whereas according to Front Line Defenders’ Global Analysis 2020, at least 331 human rights defenders were murdered in 2020, two-thirds of whom worked to protect environmental, land and indigenous peoples’ rights;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E f (new)
Recital E f (new)
E f. whereas the EU aims to push for a target of at least 30% biodiversity protection under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land (2019) demonstrates that indigenous peoples have a long record of adapting to climate variability, drawing on their traditional knowledge, which enhances their resilience;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
F b. whereas the IPCC Special report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate gives equally evidence of the benefits of combining scientific with local and indigenous knowledge to enforce resilience;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
F c. whereas Article 8 (j) of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) commits States parties to respect and maintain the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities which are relevant for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity; but whereas the Convention, however, fails to contain explicit recognition of the human rights of indigenous peoples;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas the loss of genetic diversity, especially replacement of local, well-adapted breeds increases the vulnerability to pests, diseases and environmental changes, including climate change; whereas the market globalisation of agriculture has been a reinforcing driver of such agricultural biodiversity erosion, which means less capacity to innovate and adapt to climate change;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
G b. whereas farmers’ rights were established under the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2004, but whereas intellectual property rules have often worked in contradiction to them, putting local, traditional and indigenous seed systems at risk;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
G c. whereas trade liberalisation triggers off the destruction of habitats, through infrastructure (such as mines, pipelines, roads, ports), which arise from exports of mineral and fossil products;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas the EU plays a significant role in biodiversity loss in third countries because of its imports of minerals, biomass and some agricultural products such as soybean and palm oil, whose crops constitute an important driver of tropical deforestation;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
H b. whereas current WTO rules limits the possibility of EU Member States of raising tariffs on products that have a negative impact on biodiversity;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
H c. whereas dispute settlement systems covering biodiversity and trade provisions in Multilateral Environment Agreements are not binding, unlike the WTO enforcement system, which de facto embodies the supremacy of commercial law over biodiversity;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas environmental crimes, whose value has been estimated by the UN Environment and INTERPOL up to twice the global aid budget, accelerates and biodiversity loss and climate change, notably through forestry crimes;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas the Republic of Maldives called, in its statement of 3 December 2019, to amend the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to recognise criminal acts that would amount to Ecocide;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
I c. whereas the IPBES reports that the international legal wildlife trade has increased 500% in value since 2005, and 2,000% since the 1980s[1]; Sources: IPBES workshop on biodiversity and pandemics. Workshop report (2020), p. 23
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I d (new)
Recital I d (new)
I d. whereas the EU is one of the largest importers of wildlife and wildlife- related products globally;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I e (new)
Recital I e (new)
I e. whereas global wildlife trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of organised cross-border criminal activity;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I f (new)
Recital I f (new)
I f. whereas oceans are huge reservoirs of biodiversity and the primary regulator of the global climate; and whereas their conservation is critical to sustainable development and contributes to poverty eradication, providing sustainable livelihoods and food security for billions of people;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I g (new)
Recital I g (new)
I g. whereas in a business-as-usual scenario, climate change is expected to reduce fish biomass by 30 to 40% in some tropical regions by 2100 and has a strong impact on marine biodiversity; whereas countries in these zones are highly dependent on fisheries, but lack social and financial resources to adapt and prepare for the future;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I h (new)
Recital I h (new)
I h. whereas the IUCN advocates for the transformation of at least 30% of all marine habitats by 2020 into a network of highly protected marines protected areas (MPAs);
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I i (new)
Recital I i (new)
I i. whereas Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens the sustainability of global marine resources by contributing to their overexploitation;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is alarmed at the fact that the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services will undermine progress in approximately 80 % of the assessed targets for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); calls for the EU to reduce its biodiversity footprint worldwide and to bring it within the ecological limits of ecosystems;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the EU to address the root causes of biodiversity loss and to mainstream obligations on conservation, restoration and the sustainable use of resources into broader development policies;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of biodiversity is vital to achieve many other policy objectives, including human health, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and water and food security; and recalls that the harmful effects of ecosystem degradation are being borne disproportionately by the poor, notably women, as well as indigenous people and other natural resource- dependent communities;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the duty of states to protect and sustainably manage natural and biodiversity-rich ecosystems and safeguard the human and land rights of IPLC and Afro-descendants who depend on these ecosystems for their survival;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Is deeply concerned by the major gap in data, indicators and the finance needed to halt biodiversity loss and inconsistencies in biodiversity finance reporting and tracking; recalls that establishing specific, measurable and quantitative targets and indicators for the post-2020 framework is essential to improving the ability to monitor progress;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the fact that planning, scrutinising and monitoring the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) are key to the pursuit of the EU’s global biodiversity goals; calls for harnessing the reporting and monitoring framework of EU external biodiversity policy, through i.e. detailed provisions on biodiversity objectives and indicators;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Regrets the fact that the EU budget for supporting external biodiversity policy remains considerably low in comparison with that earmarked for climate change policies; highlights the need for new investments tools to support resource mobilisation for protecting the biodiversity (such as biodiversity-relevant taxes, fees and charges); in addition, stresses the need to track, report and reform harmful subsidies to channel them towards biodiversity-friendly activities;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the EU to pass a mandatory due diligence law to make companies and their financiers directly responsible for ensuring that their imports are not tainted by land grabs and deforestation; human rights abuses, such as land grabs and environmental degradation (including deforestation, biodiversity loss); more broadly, calls on the EU to require business and financial institutions to scale up their commitment to biodiversity i.e. through robust and mandatory provisions on impact assessment, risk management; disclosure and external reporting requirements; invites the OECD to develop a set of practical actions on due diligence and biodiversity to support efforts by business;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Notes that the IPBES’ 2019 GA report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services shows the limits of the approach of the protection of biodiversity through the spatial extent of terrestrial and marine protected area, which account among the few Aichi Biodiversity Targets partially achieved;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes with deep concern that EU consumption accounts for around 10 % of the global share of deforestation, through its high import dependency of agricultural commodities such as palm oil, meat, soy, cocoa, maize, timber, rubber; reiterates its call for the Commission to submit a proposal in 2021 for an EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation, by ensuring that EU market and consumption patterns do not detrimentally affect forests and biodiversity;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls that the EU’s growing demand for wood for use in materials, energy and the bioeconomy is exceeding the limits of its supply, which increases the risk of import-embodied deforestation, land grabbing, forced displacement and violations of indigenous peoples’ rightsIPLC’ rights; reiterates that EU bioenergy policy should respond to strict environmental and social criteria;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Calls on the EU to step up the implementation of its FLEGT Action Plan in particular the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) so as to reduce the demand for illegal timber and the associated trade and to strengthen the rights of communities and Indigenous Peoples living affected by logging;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Underlines that protecting biodiversity and mitigating climate change are not automatically mutually supportive; calls for the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive to make it consistent with EU’s international commitments on Agenda 2030, the Paris Agreement and the Convention of Biological Diversity, which entails i.e.: to introduce social sustainability criteria taking into account the risks of land- grabbing; to this end, RED II should comply with international tenure rights standards, i.e. ILO Convention No 169 and FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenures and Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that agricultural production both depends and has an impact on biodiversity; highlights that effective mainstreaming of biodiversity in agriculture requires i.e. to identify and phase out environmentally harmful subsidies; to enshrine the “polluter pays” principle within the regulatory framework (e.g. taxes on synthetic fertiliser and pesticide use) and to make ex-ante and ex- post Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) mandatory;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. IRecalls that agroecology’s unique capacity to reconcile the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability has been recognised by landmark reports from IPCC and IPBES and the World Bank and FAO-led global agricultural assessment (IAASTD); insists that EU external funding for agriculture should be in line with the transformative nature of the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN CBD; considers that investment in agro- ecology, agroforestry and crop diversification should be prioritised accordingly;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls that seed diversity is vital in building the resilience of farming to climate change; against this backdrop, notes with concern that EU FTAs require Parties to ensure the protection of plant varieties in accordance with the revised 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which is incompatible with the provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA);
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. CRecalls that TRIPS provision which request some form of protection for plant varieties don't force developing countries to adopt UPOV regime; calls for the EU to support intellectual property rights regimes that enhance the development of locally adapted seed varieties and farmer-saved seeds; and to ensure that the EU commitments made to farmers’ rights under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture are reflected in all technical assistance and financial support for seed policy development;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls for the EU to put an end to the double standards towards pesticides whereby hazardous substances banned in the EU can be exported from the Union, in line with EU’s commitments towards PCD, the Green Deal, the “do-not-harm principle” and the Rotterdam Convention of 1998;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls for the EU to advocate at COP 15 of the UN CBD a global moratorium on gene drive research linked to the development of applications and on releases of gene drive organisms into nature, including field trials, and to uphold the precautionary principle, ass enshrined in the TFUE as well as the CBD;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Recalls that conservation, restoration and sustainable management of marine ecosystems is crucial for climate mitigation strategies while ensuring that the rights and livelihoods of small-scale fishers and coastal communities are respected; emphasises that the IPCC Special report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate gives evidence of the benefits of combining scientific with local and indigenous knowledge to enforce resilience; urges the EU to develop a Human Rights -based approach towards ocean governance;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21 b. Underlines that the excessive fishing capacity within the framework of international fish trade is threatening food security of coastal communities and marine ecosystems in developing countries; recalls EU’s commitment towards the Principle of Policy Coherence for Development; takes the view that progress still needs to be made for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements to become truly sustainable, highlights that these agreements must be in line with best available scientific advice and must neither undermine local food security nor threaten the small-scale fisheries sector in third countries by putting it in direct competition with EU vessels; more broadly, calls on the EU and its Member States to push for ambitious measures and financial resources to tackle the global issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the trade of illegal seafood products;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21 c. Emphasises that creating a sustainable maritime environment requires to tackle i.a. land-based pollution reaching the seas and oceans, marine pollution and eutrophication; urges the EU and its Member States to take all necessary measures to address holistically the root causes of marine pollution and fish depletion, and to reform accordingly its sectoral policy, notably its agricultural policy, to respond effectively to its international commitments on biodiversity and climate change;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Paragraph 21 d (new)
21 d. Stresses the need to implement an integrated approach to all sectors of the Blue Economy based on science and an Ecosystem-based approach, which implies an understanding of the relationships between human society and the ecosystems that support it; emphasises accordingly the duty of states to refrain from taking measures, including large- scale development projects, that may adversely affect the livelihoods of inland and marine smallscale fishers, their territories or access rights, unless their free, prior and informed consent is obtained, and ensure that courts protect such rights; and conduct ex-ante assessments of extractive industry projects, operated by private entities in order to evaluate the possible negative human rights impacts on local fishing communities;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. SDeplores that Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of EU FTAs are poorly effective in the implementation of biodiversity-related provisions; stresses that in order to be enforceable, the environmental objectives of the EU’s free trade agreements (FTAs) must be clear, quantifiable, verifiable and include sanctions for non-compliance;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Highlights that the biodiversity of cultivated crops and farmed animals has fallen as a result of international trade, in particular, recalls that specialisation in agriculture, resulting from trade liberalisation, has a downside negative effect for ecosystem, that are less diverse, and therefore less functional and less resilient; calls for a full assessment of the direct and indirect impact of EU FTAs on biodiversity;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls that the risk of pandemics is driven by anthropogenic changes, such as land-use change, agricultural expansion and intensification, the rise of global trade and consumption as well as demographic pressure, that brings wildlife, livestock and people into closer contact; in this context, recalls that ecological restoration is critical for the implementation of the ‘One Health’ approach;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Recalls that the majority of drugs used for healthcare and the prevention of diseases are derived from biodiversity, while many important therapeutics are derived from indigenous knowledge and traditional medicine;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Stresses the need to ensure that the benefits of nature’s genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably; underlines that regulations taken to protect GR and their associated TK must comply with international commitments taken on the promotion and respect of the rights of indigenous peoples as enshrined in the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the 1989 ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (No 169); in particular, insists that the WTO Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) should be compatible with the Nagoya Protocol to the UN CBD; accordingly, considers it crucial to establish mandatory requirements on disclosing the origin of genetic resources during patent proceedings;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Underlines the fact that the IPBES global assessment demonstrated the importance of IPLC to global biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management; regrets that, in spite of this great potential, indigenous knowledge has not been effectively used, while the explicit recognition of indigenous or tribal peoples, and of their rights, remains absent from the legal, policy and institutional frameworks of many countries, and its implementation remains a major issue;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Highlights the numerous allegations of large-scale violations of the rights of indigenous peoples reported by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, resulting i.e. from increased mineral extraction, the development of renewable energy projects, agribusiness expansion, mega- infrastructure development and conservation measures;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31 a. Recalls the legal duties of the State to recognise and protect the rights of indigenous people to own, develop, control and use their communal lands and to participate in the management and conservation of the natural resources;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Calls for the EU to enhance the scrutiny of EU-funded projects in terms of human rights abuses, notably for the creation or expansion of existing protected areas and, where necessary, to terminate projects which violate human rights and evict IPLC from their homeland;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Urges the EU to ensure that a rights-based approach is applied to all projects funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA), with particular regard to the rights of pastoralists and IPLC, including full recognition of the right to self- determination and land rights as enshrined in human rights treaties, notably the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); compliance with the principle of Free, Prior and Informed consent as set out in the ILO Convention 169 in relation to decision-making of all aspects of protected areas; and the establishment of accountability, complaint and redress mechanisms for infringements on indigenous rights in the context of conservation activities;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Urges the EU to ensure that the NaturAfrica Initiative promotes a rights- based approach to conservation and is developed in consultation withwith the free, prior and informed consent of the IPLC concerned, together with the civil society groups who support them and asks the EU to provide technical and financial assistance to this effect;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Stresses that securing tenure rights is a prerequisite for effective biodiversity mainstreaming; notes, however, that the lack of collective land rights for indigenous peoples is a primary obstacle to ensuring that rights-based conservation becomes effective; reminds that frameworks such as the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) can help to provide legal certainty; accordingly, urges the EU to make the effective implementation of these guidelines a pre-condition of investment in the remit of NDICI; more broadly, urges Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity to recognise the rights of indigenous peoples as a matter of priority, in a context where protected areas are to be expanded; and calls on the EU to undertake all necessary measures for the effective implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ratification of the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention No. 169;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Recalls that the transition to a green and digital economy has huge implications for the mining sector and that there are growing concerns that mining will spread into sensitive forest landscapes, contributing to deforestation and forest degradation; reminds that 80% of forests worldwide constitute traditional lands and territories of indigenous people; calls on the EU and its Member States to step up its efforts to foster responsible and sustainable mining practices, while accelerating its transition towards a circular economy; in particular, calls on the EU to develop a region-wide framework for extractive industries which would sanction companies violating human rights and provide legal redress to indigenous peoples whose rights have been violated; and stresses the need to ban mineral exploration and exploitation in all protected areas including national parks and World Heritage Sites;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35 b. Regrets the serious shortcomings of the UN “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework and the Guiding Principles on business and human rights with regard to both indigenous peoples’ rights and land rights; calls once again on the EU to engage constructively in the work of the UN Human Rights Council on an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises, which should include specific standards for the protection of indigenous people;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Stresses that wildlife trafficking should be classified as a serious crime in accordance with the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime in an effort to facilitate international cooperation, notably in a context where trade and consumption of wildlife represents an important risk for future pandemics;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37 a (new)
Paragraph 37 a (new)
37 a. Urges supply, transit and demand countries to deepen their levels of cooperation to combat illegal wildlife trade along the entire chain; in particular, urges governments of the supply countries to: i) improve the rule of law and create effective deterrents by strengthening criminal investigation, prosecution and sentencing; ii) enact stronger laws treating illicit wildlife trafficking as a "serious crime" deserving the same level of attention and gravity as other forms of transnational organised crime; iii) allocate more resources to combating wildlife crime, particularly to strengthen wildlife law enforcement, trade controls, monitoring, and customs detection and seizure; iv) to commit to a zero-tolerance policy on corruption;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Urges the EU to make the fight against environmental crime an overriding strategic political priority in international judicial cooperation and at COP meetings, notably by promoting compliance with MEAs through the adoption of criminal sanctions, exchanges of best practices and by promoting the enlargement of the scope of the International Criminal Court to cover criminal acts that amount to ecocide; calls on the Commission and the Member States to allocate appropriate financial and human resources to preventing, investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. SUnderlines that international law has evolved to embrace new concepts such as “the Common heritage of humanity”, “Sustainable Development”, “Future Generations”; but stresses that there is no permanent international mechanism to monitor and address environmental damage and destruction that alters the global commons or ecosystem services; calls for the EU and the Member States, to this end, to support a paradigm shift to include ecocide and the right of future generations in international environmental law;